Seven Fields to consider changes to public participation policy
SEVEN FIELDS — It may become easier for the residents of the borough to address council members on the public record.
On Monday Jan. 8, the Seven Fields council members discussed making several changes to the public participation policy to make it easier for the public to speak at council meetings. The policy, which was created in 2018, requires residents to “notify the Borough Manager via email or phone at least three (3) business days in advance of the public meeting to be specifically included on the agenda.”
Suzanne Mills, who was on the planning commission for Seven Fields from 2016 until her appointment expired this month, said she wanted to bring “attention to the council” of the current public participation policy.
“I found this in the past to be problematic because often the agendas of the meeting are not necessarily published at a time that allows the public to properly respond,” Mills said when addressing the council Monday.
Kimberly Regan-Koch, council president, recommended updating the resolution to allow residents to sign up to speak 90 minutes before a meeting instead of the three days in advance.
“I think what we hear is, sometimes you don’t get a chance to review the agenda and then you miss the sign up on Friday for the thee days in advance,” Regan-Koch said. “Then you get to the agenda on Saturday and you’re like ‘dang I’d like to comment.’”
Regan-Koch also said she would be fine with allowing residents to sign up to speak when they walk into a council meeting.
“I do see what councilmen (Jeff) Smouse is saying,” Regan-Koch said. “What’s the difference if they have to call before 5 or they walk in the door at 6:15 and sign up.”
Council member Dawn Servello does not want the updated policy to discourage the public from reaching out to the council before a meeting.
“If there is something that’s pressing and you have some advanced notice to send an email so that it can be researched,” Servello said. “That way we’re more educated on (the subject) instead of it having just been sprung on us and we don’t have any information or background.”
The council also discussed the possibility of having two public comment periods, one at the beginning and one at the end.
“I, for one, don’t want to have two public comments,” Regan-Koch said.
Council member Morgan Hardesty agreed with the council president, saying that allowing residents to speak twice during a council meeting could bring forth unnecessary debates.
“The root of a lot of public participation in these meetings is not so much a dialogue back and forth,” Hardesty said. “It’s to hear the residents, to hear what they have to say.”
The council will put together an updated draft of the resolution before voting on the changes next month.
